Meeting for Sufferings: The end of a long journey
Catherine James spoke about proposed revisions
Catherine James, convenor of the Church Government Advisory Group (CGAG), spoke to the proposed redrafts of chapter sixteen and section 3.27 of chapter three of Quaker faith & practice.
The revision of chapter sixteen reflects legislation in England and Wales permitting same sex marriages from March 2014 and in Scotland from December 2014. It also reflects the decision by Meeting for Sufferings not to offer couples an option of a civil partnership if a marriage could be recorded by the state.
The changes mean that the chapter is now shorter, but with more sections. CGAG reordered it, ‘to try to provide a logical and chronological pattern of the steps required’. The chapter was also divided into the actions of the couple involved, of the Quaker registering officer and of the Meeting. CGAG tried not to alter words for the sake of it, Sufferings heard.
Catherine stressed that all registering officers appointed by Area Meetings should be willing to report the marriages of both opposite sex and same sex couples. She also highlighted two key changes to the wording.
In the first of these, CGAG suggested that the full name be used at the start of the declaration. The second suggested change involved recognising that some jurisdictions are now issuing birth certificates or passports showing neither male nor female, but gender X. CGAG considered what wording would be desirable in the marriage declaration to refer to such a person getting married in the manner of Friends.
A gender-neutral option for the marriage declaration was added.
The clerk asked Sufferings whether the proposed revision could be sent to Yearly Meeting. Meeting for Sufferings approved the draft chapter, with one Friend referring to it as ‘the end of a very long journey’.
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